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Alden Shoe Restoration v. B. Nelson Shoe Restoration

Took my Alden hand sewn loafers to my local cobbler in Michigan. Cobbler's Corner of Northville and my shoes came back looking better then what B. Nelson did. How do I add photos?
 
$photo 1.jpg$photo 2.jpgI have only worn Alden's for work for the last 30 years. Bought my first pair of Shell Cordovans in 2002, now only wear Alden shell cordovan. My 2002 pair (Color 8 Leisure Handsown Moccasin) has been restored by Alden twice, but I developed a pretty major problem with the back of the shoes, I am attaching pictures. I sent them into Alden, which was very nice, called me promptly and re-stitched the back counters for me, but they declined to restore them again and returned them to me (sent letter saying I would be better off getting a new pair rather than putting more money into these). I just got off the phone with Nick at B Nelson, he said they can be saved and he would be glad to restore them. Will post pics once I get them back.
These are my favorite shoes, so I'm doing the full service restore at B Nelson with the upgraded Joh. Rendenbach leather for $150. I love how these shoes have looked and felt for the past 13 years, it's worth it to me to keep them. I normally make pretty basic economic decistions, but after seeing this thread I wanted to try out B Nelson, and I have an emotional attachment to these shoes.
 
$photo 1.jpg$photo 2.jpgIt took about three weeks, but just got my Alden's back, could not be happier with B Nelson and Nick Valenti. Like others have said, Nick was very much a communicator, did what he said he was going to do, and fixed my shoes when Alden had rejected them. Again, Alden may have made the right call that the repair money would have been better spent on a new pair, but this was my first pair of Shell Cordovans and my favorite pair to wear and I did not want to let them go. I am wearing them for the first time today, just took a couple of pictures (the JR soles/heels should have been pictured before I walked in them, but I really like them). I will use B Nelson again, but may continue to go to Alden as well. For $150, I am happy with how these turned out. And it may just be me, but I think the shell cordovan is still beautiful, even 13 years in and now with my third restoration.
 

johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
Those LHS loafers look great. I am curious as to why Alden refused to refurbish them. Would you mind elaborating?
 
Bob- Alden was very courteous, very prompt, they called me to tell me that they didn't think the heel bases would last long term, they restitched the back counters for free and shipped them back to me for free. In my opinion, what I gather is that after examining the shoes, they did not feel like after restoration these shoes would be sure to have structural integrity until the new heels/soles wear out. When they restore a pair of their shoes, they probably want to feel as good about them as if they were brand new. So in their opinion, that money would be better spent on a new pair. The reasons I chose to have them done by B Nelson for $150 anyway were:
I love this pair of shoes- I really like the look, I really like the feel, I really like their history in my life, etc.
And, I'm not a young guy anymore. My Aldens over the last 30 years have lasted 15-20 years each. I'll be 58 this year, I don't have a need to spend $650 or more for a new pair of quality dress shoes like I have in the past.
I have three other pairs of shell Aldens- the two coming up for their first restore I plan to send to Alden (black LHS moc and a black cap toe), the other (Color 8 tassel moc) will likely go to B Nelson, they are ten years old and have already had an Alden restore.
 

johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
Thanks for the update. Although it appears that Alden was forthright in their assessment I think the $150 spent on a B. Nelson restoration was money well-spent as they still look great. Nothing beats a new pair of old shoes. Enjoy. :thumbup1:
 
$photo 40.jpg$photo 46.jpgHere's a quick update. I am wearing my Color 8 Leisure Handsewn Moccasins today, that B Nelson repaired and returned a couple of months ago (see prior posts above). I wear them once or twice a week to work, and they have quickly become my favorites again, even though I've had them 13 years and they have a lot of wear. I've noticed the JR upgrade soles and heels have a nice, cushioned soft feel, I am really glad I upgraded.
But, around the first of April I sent another pair of Aldens into Alden for restoration, just got them back. There's a lot to be said for the factory treatment. And a very nice touch as always with a new pair of Shoe bags, an original Alden shoe box and a new pair of Cedar shoe trees. If you've not had the experience of sending a favorite pair of Aldens back to the factory, it's a great experience I recommend.
 

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johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
The real distinction between the two, that I am able to discern, is if you want a quicker turnaround then B. Nelson is the place for you. If you want original factory along with original shoe box and Alden shoe bags and time is not of the essence then Alden is the way to go. The two pair that I had done are holding up very well.

Your "new" old shoes look great, btw.
 
I used B. Nelson to repair some Allen Edmonds a few months ago. B. Nelson did a great job, and I would highly recommend them.
 
It's great to see other guys love their old classic shoes like they are part of the family, as I do. I have had Allen Edmunds shoes for 40 years and had many pairs recrafted. I live in northern Minnesota and never heard the word Aldens so all of my first 40 years of quality shoes were AE. Thanks to this thread and Ebay I have added two pair of Aldens, (one new and one used), and a pair of 1980 vintage Hanover cordovan that are like new. Being the Hanovers are not replaceable I don't even take them on over night trips.

Thanks for the info. Nice to know the Hanovers wil do well with B. Nelson and all works well at Aldens.
Thanks for this thread. I now know I have a great option for my prize Hanovers and two good choices for the Aldens.
 
Seems like it's just been me posting in the last year or so, but I recently picked up a pair of Alden Cigar shell cordovans, and sent them in to Alden for restoration. Have never had Alden shell cordovan in anything other than Color 8 or black. The uppers are in good shape, the heels and soles were awful, I wasn't sure Alden would accept them, but they did (B Nelson was my backup plan). Here are the "before" pics I took, they have been at Alden for almost a month, I should get them back by the first of March, I expect. Will also post "after" pics. $photo 20.jpg$photo 22.jpg$photo 21.jpg
 
Those will be cool to watch.

I have a pair of Alden Shell Cordovan Monk's that'll be ready for a trip back to Alden in the next year.
 
Well, it's been 7 and a half weeks since Alden received my Cigar shells, and they arrived back today. The postcard said give them 8 weeks, so right on time. And wow! What a spectacular job. It looks to me like an entirely new heel base (the "before" pics showed up into the wood), and an entirely new welt as well. I now own a spectacular pair of Cigar shells, that cost me $90 plus $169 for restoration, including new shoe box, bags and cedar trees. I think I got a heck of a deal. Here are a couple of pics to compare with the "before" pics above.
$photo 41.jpg$photo 43.jpg$photo 44.jpg
 

johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
Those look great. Congrats. Where can you find a pair of Alden Cigar Shell cordovan shoes for $276.00. What a bargain. New? Easily $650-750. Nicely done.
 

johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
Following up, it has been a little over 4 years since I sent my shoes to both B. Nelson and Alden. The craftsmanship on both was indeed outstanding and both shoes have held up extremely well. The Norwegian Split-Toe did encounter an issue. One day, while walking along the sidewalk, the toe of my left shoe got caught in a crack in the sidewalk and tore the outer sole from the mid-sole. About a one inch piece of the sole was hanging off the bottom of the shoe. Now, I didn't want to re-sole the shoes again since they still have plenty of life left in them. I took the shoe to local cobbler and he repaired the shoe. Initially, he wanted to put rubber tips on the shoes, However, when he saw my reaction he quickly said "or we can do leather". :yesnod:

He also explained that the leather was sewn to the mid-sole and then covered with the leather piece on the outer sole. (He said this was to maintain the integrity of the shoe so that if another re-sole was done, the stitching would go all the way around the outer sole again like the original sole. (I don't really know how that's done so I'll just have to take his word for it).

Anyway, the Alden NST live to fight another day.

Also, I just requested a shoe bag from Alden. I will be sending a pair to Alden for its first overhaul.
 

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i love the look of the norwegian toe. and have always had a soft spot for Aldens. need to pull em out more but winter in oregon can be brutal on nice shoes. except canvas boots have no style right?
 
Awesome thread OP. Very informative.

Own several pairs of AE shoes. If I were to have them recrafted by B. Nelson, would AE not recraft them again in the future? Still confused on AE's policy on recrafting shoes that were recrafted by others. Does AE have a strict policy on not recrafting shoes that have been recrafted by another service/cobbler, or does it depend on how the shoe was recrafted? If it depends, has anyone had AE recraft shoes that were recrafted by B. Nelson previously?

Thanks,

smithmal
 
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